Living in Sarasota may have been significantly altered by the economic growth and added glitz that the city has experienced in recent years. Sarasota Bay Real Estate notes, however, that it is highly unlikely that such profound changes will overshadow the long-standing cultural maturity of Sarasota that has contributed much to enhancing property values in its residential communities.
One primary reason that Sarasota will remain magnetic as a hub of culture is the strong opinions that Sarasotans generally have on their city’s arts and cultural heritage, the full service realty firm observes. There are many incidents demonstrating how opinionated and sensitive city residents are when it comes to the vital elements which have built up Sarasota as the Sunshine state’s cultural capital.
Residents of downtown South Palm Avenue, for instance, in September sought city intervention on the looming demolition of La Palme Royal, a historic 1920s bed and breakfast (B&B) building. Its owners want to have it demolished to pave the way for the construction of an 18-story Sarasota downtown condo. Some locals believe though that the B&B represents part of Sarasota’s history and should therefore be preserved.
The statue “Unconditional Surrender,” too, has been the subject of much community discussions (for and against), since it was placed at the Sarasota bayfront in 2009 for a 10-year exhibit. Based on a 1945 V-J Day photo which captured an elated sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square, the 25-foot aluminum statue was reportedly built using computer technology.
While this sculpture has consistently attracted visitors for their own photo-ops, its critics had maintained that the statue wasn’t that good to merit bayfront exhibition. The chairperson of the city’s public art committee at the time when approval of the exhibition of “Unconditional Surrender” was being deliberated even called it as a “giant cartoon image” not even qualified as kitsch artwork. Most locals, nonetheless, appear to have accepted this slice-of-life depiction of the Americans’ jubilant mood at the end of WWII and now call the statue “The Kiss” or “The Nurse and the Sailor.”
For many Sarasotans and the cultured class, in particular, what may be difficult to sink in though is the ranking of the real estate blog Movoto which named Sarasota in August 2014 as the “sexiest small city” in the U.S. But really, there should be no concern that this rating indicates Sarasota maybe losing its luster as the Cultural Coast of Florida.
The maturity of Sarasota culturally is far too established already. Although the city has its fair share of nightspots and nightlife, cited as among the criteria of the Movoto ranking, these can be easily outshone in market imagery by Sarasota’s various arts and culture venues, ranging from an opera house to a world-renowned performing arts center.
Sarasota also exudes an intellectually grown-up feeling with the various arts and cultural events it hosts regularly. For instance, there is an annual international film festival held every April. Each October, the Ringling Museum in the city also hosts an international arts festival.
At historic Palm Avenue, an art walk festival is held each first Friday of the month. And then, there are the local residents within this district who want a vintage B&B retained, exemplifying the Sarasotans’ vigilant efforts to help preserve their city’s rich cultural heritage.
SARASOTA, FLORIDA, October 7, 2019 – Property values of communities in the Sarasota-Manatee region now face lesser threat from neighborhood eyesores brought about by abandoned, foreclosed homes. Known in the real estate trade as zombie foreclosures, these properties have shrunk significantly in the region. According to an August report of ATTOM Data Solutions, abandoned […] more>>